About this role
Job summary
Senior leadership of end-to-end Soft Facilities Management across DHC & DCH portfolio--Cleaning, Patient Catering, Portering, Security, Grounds, Waste, Linen & Laundry, Administration & Car Parking, Transport and Car Parking and Switchboard / Receptions ensuring each service line operates to clear standards, unambiguous KPIs, and a robust governance framework that demonstrably supports clinical care, safety, patient experience, and operational resilience across all sites and settings.
The Head of Service is accountable to the Joint Director Estates and Facilities for the provision of leadership, direction, health & safety and financial control for all Facilities operational services, contributing to and ensuring delivery of strategic and operational service objectives set by DCH & DHC Board and Executive Management Team
Main duties of the job
Translate corporate and clinical strategy into a coherent Soft FM operating model and annual planPeople,Process,Technology, Commercials, Outcomes
Provide executive assurancethat DCH & DHC Soft FM operations meet statutory and mandatory requirements, are audit-ready at all times, and are supported by clear risk registers, incident learning loops, and forward plans that prevent recurrence and drive continuous improvement.
Lead transformation and innovation at scale--reframing service delivery models, modernising methods, and embedding a culture of data-driven decision-making and measurable benefits realisation.
Act as the professional lead for Soft FM, advising executives, Divisions and clinical boards, deputising for the Joint Director EFM where appropriate on Soft FM matters, and providing compelling, evidence-based briefings, options appraisals and recommendations for investment, disinvestment, or service re-design.
To role model compassionate and inclusive leadership in order to shape the creation of a collective leadership culture within the trust. This means demonstrating a consistent leadership style which (a) engages, enables and empowers others (b) uses coaching to promote ownership of learning and quality improvement and (c) facilitates team working and collaboration within teams / departments and acrossorganisational boundaries.
About us
At DCHFT, we pride ourselves on the care we provide for our patients, and on the culture, we are creating for our staff. We work hard to create a fair, inclusive environment for our staff.
Our Mission is to provide outstanding care for people in ways which matter to them, and our vision is Dorset County Hospital, working with our health and social care partners, will be at the heart of improving the well-being of our communities.
We are a Trust that celebrates diversity, and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applications from people in all under-represented groups.
We understand that AI can be a useful tool when completing your application. However, we are seeing an increasing over-reliance of AI tools, which can negatively affect your application as it reduces a candidate's individuality, and makes it difficult for us to gain a clear and authentic understanding of your experience, skills, and in turn your suitability for the role.
All submissions must be truthful and if you do use AI, it should only be used to enhance your application and not create your supporting statement in its entirety. Your supporting statement should be in your own words and must accurately reflect your personal experience and achievements. Where we have concerns that AI has been used to generate content that misrepresents your experience and suitability for the role, we may withdraw your application.
Job description Job responsibilities
Right to Work in the UK: This role is not available for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. Applicants must already have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. Unfortunately, we are unable to support visa applications for this post in line with UKVI regulations.
Please see the attached Job Description/Person Specification for full details of the main responsibilities of this position.
Person Specification
Education, Qualifications & Training Essential
Master's-level knowledge (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline (e.g., Facilities & Estates) with substantial, proven experience leading Soft FM across large, complex, multi-site organisations. Demonstrates deep understanding of how non-clinical services intersect with clinical safety, patient flow, infection prevention and experience. Sufficiently experienced to have gained a Corporate Membership of an appropriate Professional body, or equivalent knowledge
Desirable
NEBOSH Diploma PRINCE2 Practitioner Sufficiently experienced to have gained a Corporate Membership of an appropriate Professional body, or equivalent knowledge
Experience & Knowledge Essential
Extensive knowledge, relationships and experience of the healthcare commercial sector including primary care/GP surgery buildings Knowledge of Health Building Notes and Health Technical Memoranda relating to healthcare estate, Better Business Case training and the ability to write and review business cases in line with the H M Treasury Green Book methodology Knowledge and experience in the wider public sector arena relating to estates including in S106/CIL, One Public Estate decarbonization/NHS Greener agenda. Proven significant previous experience of working successfully in a senior management role at the same level. Proven leadership of large, complex programmes and service transformation Demonstrable experience of primary care estate partnerships, including leading capital business cases and working in partnership with a range of stakeholders. Experience of estate development, capital business case preparation and partnership working Ability to work collaboratively across organisational and system boundaries Strategic, analytical and solutions-focused with strong professional credibility Knowledge of Health Building Notes and Health Technical Memoranda relating to healthcare estate, Better Business Case training and the ability to write and review business cases in line with the H M Treasury Green Book methodology Knowledge and experience in the wider public sector arena relating to estates including in S106/CIL, One Public Estate decarbonization/NHS Greener agenda Demonstrable skills in written and spoken English to a standard which enables the post holder to carry out the full range of duties and responsibilities of the role effectively Significant senior-level managerial and supervisory experience, including accountability for leading multidisciplinary teams, workforce planning, performance management, staff development and the delivery of complex programmes within large, complex organisational environments Highly developed leadership, influencing and negotiation skills Demonstrable senior-level experience of estate development, including leading the preparation and assurance of capital business cases, navigating NHS capital and planning processes, and working effectively in partnership with primary and secondary care stakeholders to deliver a sustainable Estate in Dorset Demonstrable experience of managing and controlling significant budgets and physical resources, including capital and revenue planning, financial governance, prioritisation of investment, and ensuring value for money in the use of public funds Demonstrable Information Technology and information management experience, including effective use of estates, capital planning and performance management systems, development and interpretation of management information, and confident use of digital tools (e.g. spreadsheets, databases and reporting systems) to support evidence-based decision-making and statutory reporting requirements Evidence of demonstrating Dorset County Hospital & Dorset HealthCare Trust values and behaviours in day-to-day practice, leadership approach and interactions with colleagues, partners and stakeholders. Subject to the provisions of the equality act, able to travel using own vehicle on trust business
Skills & Abilities Essential
To maintain an ongoing review of the profile and skill mix of the workforce to ensure the most appropriate and cost-effective use of staff resource Ensure that there is an effective overall performance management system within the Service aligned to the Organisations' Annual Plan. This will involve ensuring the Service/Business Unit has access to relevant and timely information. To take overall responsibility for the Service response to complaints ensuring responses are produced to the required standards in relation to timeframes and quality and are sensitive to the needs of the patients and their families Ensure rotas and on-call arrangements are in place to manage the Service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Ability to judge highly complex facts and situations requiring analysis, interpretation comparison of a range of options. i.e. recorded activity data, value for money, project feasibility, and change in service delivery. The data is often multi-faceted and can be conflicting Make judgements across a wide range of Estates & Facilities issues that may impact on Health & Safety due to conflicting demands and circumstances Lead structured root-cause analyses after Soft FM incidents (e.g., spike in environmental swabs, food hygiene breach, repeated porter response failures, security escalation), translating findings into specific changes to SOPs, training, supervision, contract performance levers, and technical standards--and then verify fixes through targeted re-audit. Highly developed leadership, influencing and negotiation skills Planning & Organisational Skills Support the Joint Director Estates and Facilities, and DHC/DCH Executive Management Team in the formulation of a joint multi-year Soft FM strategy that that may impact across the organisation, such as the development of schemes to future-proof the acute Hospital Estate critical services and space utilisation program. o Run annual planning for 24/7 operations, including: o Workforce plans: safe staffing, skill mix, supervisory spans, seasonal resourcing, succession and talent pipelines. o Rota/coverage: senior duty/on-call arrangements, weekend/public holiday plans, surge playbooks, and escalation triggers. o Service capacity: alignment to clinical activity patterns (ED, theatres, clinics), construction programmes/decants, winter pressures, and major events. o Direct a portfolio of programmes/projects across Soft FM: service re-framing; outsourcing/insourcing transitions; kitchen and servery refurbishments; ward decants and commissioning; security system upgrades; car-park technology deployments; CAFM module rollouts/migrations. Establish PIDs, governance forums, risk/issue/change logs, communication plans and benefit maps--and embed post-implementation reviews. Physical Skills N/A
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details Employer name Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Address Dorset County Hospital
Williams Avenue
Dorchester
DT1 2JY
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.dchft.nhs.uk/working-for-us/ (Opens in a new tab)